The book I read for this month was “The Border” by Steve Schafer. This book’s concept is about a conflict in Mexico with narcos (illegal drug dealers). The narcos raided, massacred, and killed Pato, Arbo, Marcus, and Gladys’ whole family and everyone living in their area. These four teen survivors needed to escape their home country if they didn’t want to face the same fate. The genre of this book is a thriller/action. This page-turning book really grasps the reader’s attention through each page. The author did a great job in developing the characters in the book. Among one of these characters is Pato, the narrator of the book. In the beginning of the story, Pato had a pretty normal lifestyle. He had many friends and close cousins and liked to play soccer. It doesn’t directly say it in the book, but from Pato’s actions and thoughts, readers are able to say that he was just an average teenager living an average teenage life. However, by the end of the book, Pato has gone through so much emotionally, physically, and mentally. These experiences and traumas made him a person with a new story. He had lost people whom he loved and valued, and this may make him not take things for granted in the future. Although Pato and his friends are all fictional characters, there are people in this world that have or have gone through similar struggles. And personally, this made me think of what I would do if I suddenly lost my whole family and friends. This book made me rethink about my decisions and thoughts, and it made me think about how I sometimes take things and people for granted. It also made me more aware of people that really have lost their loved ones. Overall, I would rate this book a 4.5/5. I didn’t give it a full 5 stars because the book had some pretty graphic scenes here and there. Personally, I can’t bear to read those parts because it really disturbs me. However, I think this book was very realistic and it really gave awareness about topics like this because things similar to this (and even worse) actually happened, no matter how violent and disturbing it was. I found this book in the public library and I just got it because it had a clean and attention-grabbing cover. But eventually, after reading the book, I was glad I took it home to read. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thrillers/survival books, or anyone that’s just looking for a good book to read.
Book review by RH.
North Surrey Secondary School Library Learning Commons 